FlowMags

The magnetic flowmeter market has shown very strong growth in the past four years. There are a number of reasons for this. One is that the top three suppliers have all shown substantial growth since 2009. The second-tier companies also grew significantly.

A steady stream of new products has kept the magnetic flowmeter market vibrant with growth. The development of insertion meters gives more options to end-users who may hesitate to pay the high prices for large line size magnetic flowmeters. Suppliers have brought out a wide variety of liners to handle sanitary and caustic liquids. Advanced diagnostics are making magmeters both more intelligent and more reliable.

AC vs. DC

When magnetic flowmeters were first introduced, many had coils powered by continuous alternating current (AC). These devices had the disadvantage that they were subject to noise that interfered with the proper reading of the meter. As a result, they needed to be calibrated regularly against an onsite hydraulic zero to maintain their accuracy.

Direct current (DC) magmeters were developed to solve the problems associated with the noise associated with AC meters. The DC meters were based on pulsed direct current. When the current is turned on, a voltage is generated in the magnetic flowmeter, showing the velocity of a flowing liquid. When the current is turned off, any remaining voltage is assumed to be due to noise. The meter computes flow velocity by subtracting this extra remaining voltage.

While DC pulsed technology was first introduced in 1974, it became popular in the 1980s, and its popularity has grown since then. Pulsed DC technology does have the drawback, however, that many of them have lower signal strength than AC meters. This gives AC meters an advantage for measurement of some dirty liquids and slurries.

To compensate for low signal strength, some DC meter suppliers developed “high strength” DC meters. These high strength meters still use the pulsed on-off technology of DC meters, but they have a higher coil current. This makes them better able to handle high noise applications such as slurries and dirty liquids than standard DC meters. These high strength meters are growing rapidly in popularity.

New Product Developments Vitalize This Market

While the magnetic flowmeter market is a mature and stable one, there are some new product developments in the magmeter market, and these new developments favor continued growth. One recent development is the advent of two-wire magnetic flowmeters. Four wire meters have a dedicated power supply. Two wire meters use the power available from the loop-power supply. This reduces wiring costs, and can result in lower installation costs. These meters are becoming more popular with users, due to the cost savings involved.

Another important development is growth in battery operated and wireless magnetic flowmeters. Battery operated meters make it possible to install magmeters in hard to reach places. And wireless meters can transmit a receivable signal where the use of wires is impractical. Both of these segments represent fast-growing areas of the magnetic flowmeter market.

Another area where magnetic flowmeters distinguish themselves is in their liners. Suppliers have regularly brought out magnetic flowmeters with new liner types. Liners are the “secret sauce” of magnetic flowmeters that enables them to measure both very dirty and very clean liquids. They can measure the dirty liquids and slurries common to the pulp and paper and wastewater industries, as well as the hygienic and sanitary liquids common to the food and beverage and pharmaceutical industries. The two most popular liner types are PFA (perfluoroalkoxy).and PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), more popularly known as Teflon®. Hard rubber is widely used for water and wastewater applications.

Read about earlier events occurring in the magnetic flowmeter market

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